Darkness.
Not the kind one sees when eyes are closed, nor the absence of light in a room. This was something deeper-an absolute void, where not even the concept of space seemed to exist.
He felt nothing at first. No sound. No taste. No body. Just... thought. Or the potential for thought.
Then came sensation.
A surface beneath him. Hard. Cold. Not in the physical sense—but in a way that echoed through his awareness, like an idea of cold rather than temperature itself. It was as though his mind were rebuilding from fragments, each piece of awareness arriving one after the other.
Time passed-though how long, he couldn't say. There were no heartbeat, no movement, there was absolutely nothing. Just an abstract sensation that something was moving forward, pulling him with it.
Eventually, a thought formed.
"Senses... What was that again?"
The thought had meaning. Vocabulary. Identity. But where had it come from?
With that spark, more followed. One by one, his senses began to reemerge, as if rising from a bottomless ocean. Breathing. Stillness. He realized he had limbs. A body. He was lying down. He was human—or at least, he assumed so.
"I think... someone's touching me."
A warmth pressed against his shoulder. Gentle. Reassuring.
"It feels... nice."
The softest of sounds reached his ears. Leaves rustling. Water trickling nearby. There was wind, too-cool, faint, brushing past.
"Huh. Calming. That's what this is. It feels... refreshing to hear again."
With that, a flood of questions surged.
"Who am I?"
"Why was I in the dark?"
"What is this place?"
He couldn't answer any of them. Not yet. But somehow, he knew one thing with certainty:
He was going to wake up.
And so he did.
His eyes opened-slowly. The first thing he saw was light. It stung. He winced and turned away, blinking through the brightness until his vision adjusted.
"Ugh... so bright..." he muttered, voice hoarse and unfamiliar. "Whe-where am I?"
A figure hovered above him—a small girl. She had soft, apple-green hair and dark green eyes, wide with surprise and relief. Her bangs fell slightly into her face, which was pale and youthful. Her clothes were worn: an oversized, faded sweater and grey trousers, both frayed and weathered. A soft green glow radiated from her palm, which rested gently on his shoulder.
He tried to speak, but it took more effort than expected. His throat felt dry, unused. His second try came through as a whisper.
"Hey…"
She jumped slightly, startled by the sound, and looked at him in awe.
"Oh—! Hello, mister…" she said shyly, her voice soft and hesitant.
He stared at her, confused. Then glanced around. They were in the ruins of what appeared to be a stone building overtaken by nature. Ivy climbed broken walls. Trees had pierced through parts of the roof. Sunlight filtered down through the cracks.
Beside him, the stone was stained dark—blood. Was it his?
"I… should be in pain, shouldn't I?"
Turning to her again, he asked, "Do you know where we are?"
The girl shook her head. "No… Alice doesn't know either. Alice woke up here, too. She wandered around until she found you. You looked hurt… so Alice healed you."
Alice?
He nodded slowly. "Nice to meet you, Alice. And… thanks. I guess you saved me."
He paused.
"My name is…"
A blank space opened in his mind. His chest tightened.
"What… is my name?"
Nothing came. No memories. No past. Just blank silence.
"Huh. Classic amnesia… seen it in movies and manga all the time."
He chuckled faintly at the irony.
"Wait… manga?"
He frowned. The word made sense, but the source didn't. Fragments of knowledge floated in his mind, but no memories attached to them. Still, he needed a name. Something for her to call him.
"Lucid," he said aloud, without thinking. "My name is Lucid."
It felt right. Familiar, even.
"Maybe it's real. Maybe not. But it'll do."
She beamed. "Lucid! Yay! Alice is happy to meet you!"
He managed a weak smile. "Same here."
After a moment of quiet, he studied her again.
"You're pretty young. Isn't it dangerous to be out here alone? What about your parents?"
Her expression shifted. She looked down at her hands, quiet.
"Alice… doesn't know. Alice woke up alone. Alice doesn't remember anything before that."
Lucid's heart sank a little.
"So I'm not the only one lost."
"Well," he said gently, "we'll figure it out together. Deal?"
She perked up and nodded enthusiastically. "Deal!"
Then she reached out and tugged at his hand.
"Come on, Lucid! Alice will show you around. There's a lot to see in Alice's Forest!"
"Alice's Forest?"
He let out a breathless chuckle.
"Alright then, lead the way, princess of the woods."
She giggled and took off ahead, hopping between patches of sunlit grass. Lucid followed slowly, his legs still sore but steady. As he walked, he watched her hum and skip through the ruins like she owned the place.
"No clue where I am. No idea who I am. But for now…"
He smiled faintly.
"…this strange little girl is all I've got. And somehow, I'm okay with that."